Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Singapore Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 50.1% more expensive than Singapore overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.4 times more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 54.1% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3% less in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 45.3% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.3% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 0.1% more in San Francisco
The cost of restaurants, childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Francisco are more expensive than in Singapore. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. Singapore Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Singapore, you would:
pay 2.4 times more for restaurants
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.28
SGD12.02
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.73
SGD10.02
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
SGD2.04
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.16
SGD1.50
|
$2.59
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 54.1% more for groceries
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.36
SGD3.06
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
SGD11.51
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$11.53
SGD14.94
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.24
SGD4.20
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.05
SGD6.55
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.95
SGD2.53
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.36
SGD1.77
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.22
SGD2.88
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
SGD1.54
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
SGD1.45
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.98
SGD1.26
|
$1.81
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3% less for transportation
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.27
SGD10.71
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$92.79
SGD120.22
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$139,191.98
SGD180,323.20
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.74
SGD12.62
|
$20.31
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 45.3% more for housing
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$35.10
SGD45.48
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,116.78
SGD4,037.79
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,276.91
SGD2,949.73
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$116.26
SGD150.61
|
$179.63
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,253.76
SGD1,624.24
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$29,085.74
SGD37,680.58
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 16.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.73
SGD10.02
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.68
SGD6.06
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.76
SGD16.53
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$117.15
SGD151.77
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.60
SGD15.03
|
$17.00
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.1% more for clothing
|
Singapore
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$84.93
SGD110.03
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.58
SGD55.16
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.51
SGD135.40
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.20
SGD163.49
|
$133.67
|
|
Singapore vs. San Francisco - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Singapore vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Singapore and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Francisco or Singapore. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.